The WTO and US
Goliath Endures his First Stone by Josh Frankwww.dissidentvoice.org
November 29,
2003

This
past week the Bush administration pressed the WTO (World Trade Organization)
to delay landmark sessions that could levy over $2 billion dollars in fines
from the European Union (EU) over the United States’ protectionist steel
tariffs.

EU spokesperson Fabian
Delcros said last Friday that, “If the delay allows the United States time
to withdraw the protectionist measures, that is better for everybody.” Bush
seems to be feeling the same way. Although the White House claims it is only
buying time to review the logistics—the rescheduling of the meetings is a
strong indication the US will surely cave to the WTO’s whims.

Certainly this could be the
next tier of the new Global Economy; where industrialized nations are forced
to relinquish sovereignty to the global proprietors and policy institutions
like the WTO and the IMF (International Monetary Fund). And it will also
serve as the death certificate to the already ailing US steel industry.

Cheap steel imports and
global price drops, have all but eliminated the industry that historically
helped build this nation. In the end the tariffs will have only amounted to
a failing life-support system--where the prolonged existence of the sector
was doomed to crash under the auspices of the free-market way.

So is Bush committing
political suicide by alienating the working class and labor communities?
Hardly.

Karl Rove has obviously
informed Bush that the blue-collar jobs that are going to be eviscerated
from the tariff lifting, will only increase GOP support from the growing
white-collar steel consuming sector. At least that's how Rove sees it.

States like Ohio and
Pennsylvania have lost thousands of steel jobs since the onset of the
Clintonomics era. Consequently, the Democrats are unlikely to denounce
Bush’s decision to bow to the WTO. How could they without apologizing
themselves? They have wholeheartedly supported the WTO, along with the
free-trade agreements that now dictate the flow of global goods and capital.
This is certainly a clear indication that not only have Republicans failed
to protect US jobs, but so have the Democrats.

So those folks left with
unemployment checks and food stamps in rural Ohio will have a difficult time
replacing the very politicians that cost them their livelihoods. Talk about
lack of democratic choice.

And the loss of steel
producing jobs will only be the start. Japan, our close economic ally, is
already at the blackboard chalking up plans on how they can challenge other
US market barriers through the WTO, such as our (although weak)
protectionist coal and textile statutes. Japan is not alone either; China,
South Korea, and Switzerland are also planning their moves to open up more
markets in the US. It’s not a good sign for an economy teetering on alleged
“growth.” It is also quite bad for creating new jobs.

Sure the United States may
be able to backdoor the United Nations and attack Iraq, but the World Trade
Organization is proving it has power over how the US conducts its trade
affairs. And the fallout of domestic jobs due to their heavy handed control
could be catastrophic.

What this means is simple:
America is finally feeling the wrath of neoliberalism run amuck—Goliath
endures his first stone. And the suit coats, as always, will survive and pay
to help put Bush back in DC next year.

However, they’ll be putting
money behind Bush’s opponent just the same. And neither Party will truly be
willing to pull out of the WTO or admit it ruins lives and undermines our
nation’s sovereignty.

But perhaps these massive
layoffs will wake regular Americans from their hibratory slumber; where
they’re still dreaming that free-markets are the wave of future fortunes,
and lasting job security.

And maybe they’ll stop
seeing protestors in the street outside global trade cabals, as naďve
idealistic youth—but instead as patriots, intent on raising global standards
of living, while improving our own here in the United States.

This struggle is just
beginning. The US will again fall victim to the very free-trade policies it
has supported with a non-partisan stamp of approval.

And when this happens, it
will only mean that we have to continue onward, and show the world that the
US is also not immune from the neoliberal virus that is infecting this
world. Only then will politicians begin to hear our pleas.